


Ghosts

by kickassanakin



Category: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Genre: Gen, i just have a lot of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-22 23:37:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6097633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickassanakin/pseuds/kickassanakin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin Skywalker's last moments. Slightly different from canon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> I felt the need to write something more emotional than funny. Let's hope that worked, lol.  
> Even if the prequels sucked (which they did), Anakin was a complicated character, and at the very least I loved that about him. I feel like in the end, he would have been a lot more torn up about himself than he was in the film.  
> (shrug emoji)  
> This is also like 100% ventfic due to weird emotions I've been having lately. So, take that for what it's worth.

If he could have cried, he would have bawled. As it was, his tear ducts had been burned and scarred shut long, long ago. He used to channel the urge to cry into the Force, in order to deepen his connection to the Dark, but he had no need for that now. He reached up with the only hand he had left and gently touched his son’s cheek. He swallowed heavily, and hoped his voice wouldn’t waver too much.

“You were right,” He said softly. “Tell Leia… you were right.” He heaved, his dry lungs twisting in desperation. “You were right…”

His body let out one last, aching cough. The shallow breaths he had been taking would not sustain him much longer.

Luke frantically moved to get his helmet back on Anakin. However, the ex-Sith pushed his son’s hands away with as much force as he could muster. “No,” he wheezed, “I won’t die with that mask on my face.”

Luke tossed the helmet into the ship. Anakin tried to smile. His son was much better at following directions than he had ever been.

Luke got up and walked behind his father. Before he could protest, he felt his son’s arms wrap underneath his sternum and lift him up. “What are you doing? Get out of here!”

“You may be dying,” Luke grunted, “but I won’t let you die here.” He pulled his father up until they were both clear of the landing ramp. Luke gently laid his father down on the floor, and with an apologetic shrug, ran to the cockpit to get the controls in working order and the ship off the ground.

Anakin took as deep a breath as he could without his helmet on and pushed himself up onto his elbows. Luckily, Luke had only cut off the prosthetic part of his arm, so he wasn’t in any actual pain from the missing limb.

The ship let out a soft hum, rumbled for just a moment, then lifted off the ground.

Anakin felt a tug at his Force. He knew his time was coming. He knew Luke wanted to save him, to keep him alive, but that was just not going to happen. Anakin pushed at the darkness that crowded in at the edge of his vision. He wanted to see where Luke was taking him. If possible… he wanted to see his daughter.

No, it _would_ be possible, Anakin decided. In one last display of Skywalker Stubbornness, he would fight back death until he could speak with his daughter. He had so much to say. So much to apologize for.

He grunted and laid himself back down. He would not make it if he exerted too much pressure on the way there. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing as deeply as he could. He had time to wonder dimly if Luke was using the Force to help keep him alive… and then everything went black.

Luke rushed the ship back to the landing pad, where he knew Leia waited for him. He called out on the comlink and gave the landing code, so the various X and Y-wings wouldn’t blast him to bits mid-air.

He landed as fast as he possibly could all by himself with his dying father in the back. He barely even remembered to turn off the ship before he ran out the back. He was not surprised to see his father hadn’t moved – but his eyes were closed. That was not good.

Luke rushed to his father’s side and placed on hand on Anakin’s chest. He could feel a faint beat, Anakin’s troubled heart struggling to survive with such little oxygen, and felt somewhat relieved, if not disturbed. He wanted his father to see an Empire-free sky before he became one with the Force.

The door to the ship burst open as Leia and Han rushed onboard. “Luke, are you o-“ Leia’s worried voice cut off with a gasp of surprised as she saw the man who tortured her and blew up her planet lying on the floor beside her brother. “What is he doing here?” She hissed.

“He’s dying, Leia.” Luke said softly. “He saved my life. He saved the _galaxy_. He’s the one who killed the Emperor, not me.”

“Wasn’t the Emperor his boss?” Han frowned. “Why the change of heart?”

“He always had good in him.” Luke murmured. “I was right.”

“You very easily could have been wrong!” Leia reprimanded. “How do we know he killed the Emperor? His death could have been faked.”

Luke shook his head. “No, Leia. Search yourself. The chill is gone. He was defeated.”

Anakin coughed as he came back to consciousness. Luke immediately turned all his attention to his father. “Father, I know this is hard for you, but I want to try and help you get out of this ship.”

Leia scoffed. Anakin lifted his head up and brightened when he saw his daughter. “Luke, please… let me talk to her. For just a moment.”

Luke swallowed heavily and looked between his father and his sister. Leia was radiating anger. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Please!” Anakin lurched forward, looking desperately at Leia. “This is your decision. But I wanted to talk to you, even for just a moment.”

Leia bit her lip, her eyes smoldering at the man who destroyed her home. “Make this quick.” She said coldly.

Anakin looked to the other two men on the ship. Luke nodded in understanding and made his way off-ship. He grabbed Han by the arm and dragged him out, too.

Leia and Anakin were alone. Anakin coughed pitifully.

“I don’t want you to forgive me.” He wheezed. Leia was hardly surprised by this.

“I wouldn’t have even if you’d asked for it.”

“I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. For everything.” He laid his head back on the floor again and coughed again. “If only I had listened to your mother…”

“You didn’t.” Leia responded harshly. “You didn’t, and the entire galaxy had to pay for it.”

Anakin’s eyes closed. “I know. I will carry that knowledge with me even after I die.” He sighed. “I just – I couldn’t die without seeing you. Without _telling_ you.”

Leia felt a small pang in her heart. She hadn’t forgiven him, not by a long shot, but she did feel pity for the man who was holding on so desperately to life – for _her_. “Thank you for telling me.” She said after a quiet moment of thought.

“I- I wanted to tell you,” Anakin said again, “I wanted to say that I am so, so sorry. Oh, _Force_ , Obi-Wan is going to be so mad at me.” He sounded meek, almost. Leia looked up, confused.

His eyes were glazed over. He wasn’t making much sense. “I’m so sorry, Padmé. I never wanted _this_.” He hiccupped, and Leia realized he was crying – but no tears fell from his eyes. “After all these years of pain, only _now_ does it actually hurt.” He laughed, but he hadn’t spoken to Leia.

“Should I get Luke?” Leia asked. She was uncomfortable watching her father like this.

“Will I still be around when he gets here?” Anakin asked, in a moment of clarity.

Leia frowned, closed her eyes, and reached out with what limited control she had over her Force powers. She found Luke’s presence easily and pushed at him tentatively. He pushed back in response. Then, Leia realized she could feel another presence.

Her father’s.

His was fading quickly now, and seeing it happen through the Force was almost more painful. She cleared her throat and opened her eyes. Anakin looked up at her with amazement.

“You look so much like her…” He mumbled. “But you’ve got my temper. Watch out for that.” He chuckled, but it turned into a hacking cough.

Luke opened the ship door and knelt on the other side of his father. He looked up at Leia, and she could see a deep sadness in his eyes. “You’re not leaving the ship, are you.” He said, although it wasn’t a question. Anakin shook his head.

“No, my son. Oh, _my son_.” He smiled. “And _daughter_. If I had known…” He looked up, away from both Luke and Leia, and saw something neither of them could.

Anakin stopped breathing. Leia didn’t have to reach out with the Force to know his time in the galaxy had ended.

The twins stared at the body of their father for a long time. Both of them were filled with questions and thoughts, none of which could be answered by the cooling corpse in front of them.

Luke took a deep breath in and out. He blinked away the tears and stood up. He reached a hand out to Leia, who had begun to do the same.

“I’m sure everyone’s waiting for us.” Luke said quietly. “But we don’t have to join them right away.”

Leia shook her head. “No, we should go. We can… arrange for a funeral. Even if it’s just the two of us.”

Luke nodded solemnly. Without another word, the twins stepped out into a completely new galaxy.


End file.
